Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by German drug major Bayer Corporation against compulsory licensing issued to Natco Pharma for producing a cheaper generic drug used to treat liver and kidney cancer.“In the facts of the present case, we are not inclined to interfere. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed, keeping all questions of law open,” said a two judge bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman in its order on Friday.
The apex court was hearing an appeal by Bayer challenging a Bombay High Court verdict, refusing to stay compulsory license issued to Natco Pharma by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) to manufacture sorafenib (which is sold by Bayer as Nexavar).The Indian government had allowed Hyderabad-based drug firm Natco to produce manufacture the cancer drug using compulsory license a provision in the WTO rules that allows countries to grant license to any company to produce cheaper version of an unaffordable drug.
Under the compulsory licensing, Natco is planning sell the drug for Rs 8,800 for a month’s course.
The same drug is being sold by the German giant at an unaffordable price tag of Rs2,80,428 per month.On Friday, Bayer said it was disappointed by the court’s decision and said that it is “analysing the order and will determine any future course of action.”
The decision to issue compulsory license had kicked off a row in the global pharma industry, which perceives it as a threat to intellectual property rights in India.The global pharma industry fears that the Indian decision would set a precedent, which other developing and poor nations may follow, severely affecting the global IP regime and hurt investments in the discovery of new drugs.
